SGA 2004 Archive

The following SGA games took place in 2004:

Mutants on the Eastside

Game System

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Palladium)

Pitch

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

2

Characters

Ninja Tree Frog (Ed Freeman)

Rich catoid (Carrie)

Date

December 20, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Felix Delgato and Uyeda looked into the mystery of Yoshi the missing Ninja Master and also the robberies of local convienance stores.

They discovered that the culprits were four young mutants calling themselves The Terror Bears in a parody of the cartoon bears with pictures on their tummies. After a fight at the Terror Bears hide out, Felix and Uyeda captured the young bears and rescued Yoshi.

The terror bears revealed that they had escaped from some sort of lab where they were being kept by bad people. Uyeda had himself escaped from a similar situation and with food and kindness did his best to make friends with the bears. He also offered to help them get revenge against these bad humans.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Rain of Bullets

Game System

Feng Shui

Pitch

[Close-up shot of a small puddle on pavement at night, rain drops falling in, creating widening circles of ripples. Reflections of passing car lights shimmer in. Soft, ominous cello music.]

Announcer: "In a city that believes itself safe...

[Panning out a bit from the puddle. One darker blood drop falls in, soon followed by more, breaking the rhythm of the rain drops and staining the puddle.]

Announcer: "... A brutal killer stalks..."

[Shot of a couple of police cars parked haphazardly near a dock crane along a pier. Gray morning light, dark roiling cloud masses, wet shimmer of recent rain on everything. Music switched to more electronic, rhythmic theme.]

Cop #1, calling out: "Ah shit! I got a hand here! "

Cop #2, muttering in his to-go coffee cup: "Fuck, I don't get paid near enough for this..."

Cop #3, to Detective Romero: "That's most of the body, then. I think we're still missing a hand and one leg below the knee. Homeless guy, looks like."

Romero, eyes narrowed: "Uh-huh..."

Announcer: "... In his wake he brings war..."

[Shot of two very expensively dressed businessmen, smoking in the entrance of an Art Deco building. Sergei is older, with a greying mustache, and smoking a cigar; Dmitri is younger, dark hair slicked back, and smokes a cigarette; both wear shiny Rolex watches and gold cufflinks.]

Sergei, with strong Russian accent: "Are you sure about this?"

Dmitri, quietly, with much lighter accent: "Yes, sir."

Sergei throws cigar stub to the wet ground and stomps angrily on it. "Is that piska coming to kill me? Ni khuja!"

Announcer: "... Cop against criminal..."

[Shot of Romero aiming at a fleeing suspect. Music picks up a suspenseful beat.]

Romero: "Freeze, asshole!"

Annoucer: "... Have against have-nots..."

[Shot of Jaydee, a large black man, swinging a pipe length against another expensively dressed man whose shot with a Makharov PMM pistol goes wide.]

Jaydee: "You motherfucker, you gonna pay for what you did to Buzz!"

Announcer: "... Yakuza against Mafiya..."

[Shot of Takamura Kane doing an impossibly nimble sidestep as two men dressed in black suits reach for him, then dealing one of them a lightning-quick chop to the neck.]

Takamura: "Can't we be reasonable about this?"

Announcer: "... Old against young..."

[Shot of 12-year old Terry Yin deftly avoiding a backslap from aging grandfather.]

Terry: "But grampa! You can't just let them take your shop!"

Announcer: "...Brother against sister..."

[Shot of Tatjana and Sergei facing off, leveling pistols at one another. Music comes to a crashing halt.]

Sergei: "You're either with me or dead, shalava!!"

Announcer: "... and master against puppet."

[Shot from a high-rise window looking down upon the city at twilight; the skyline is recognizable as Seattle's. A large red fire is glowing near the waterfront, and the lights from emergency vehicles are flashing artound its perimeter.]

Low voice from off-camera, not clearly recognizable as male or female: "And you say you have this under control."

Female voice from off-camera: "Yes. All the loose ends will be tied."

[Return to the puddle shot. As the camera pans out, the circular ripples are expanding.]

Announcer: "... As wheels move within wheels, conspiracies within conspiracies..."

[Quick shot of Takamura wheeling around to see half a dozen thugs behind him.]

Announcer: "...This Christmas..."

[Shot of Terry pursued by a thug snatching the bell from a Salvation Army volunteer, and whipping it around to hit the thug.]

Announcer: "...Seattle is definitely sleepless."

[Shot of the Pike Place Market, with Jaydee sending a shop counter and its content of vegetables flying.]

[Pounding, X-treme music]

[Quick action shot of Terry throwing a large soda in a thug's face]
[Quick action shot of Romero running, jumping on a car, running over its hood and continuing his pursuit]
[Quick action shot of Tatjana doing a mad side-jump to avoid a hail of bullets and sliding across a wet floor as she pumps two H&K MP5 K's worth of retaliation]
[Quick action shot of Grampa doing a Flying Windmill Kick and sending a thug reeling against a brick wall]
[Quick action shot of Takamura back-handing an athletic-looking woman with a blow that looks like it should break her neck.]

[Music and action stop.]

[Low shot of a man in his thirties with close-cropped beard, looking down into the camera with a tight grin; behind him, dark gray sky and rain.]

Man: "Are you ready to help us?"

[Screen blackout.]

"FENG SHUI: RAIN OF BULLETS"
COMING CHRISTMAS 2004

Announcer: "This film has not yet been rated."

Game Master

Sophie Lagacé

Players

Characters

Jaydee, Big Bruiser (Edmund Metheny)

Terry Yin, Scrappy Kid

Detective Danny Romero, Maverick Cop

Takamura Kane, Transformed Fox (Jason Kalivas)

Tatjana Krucenko, Ex-Special Forces

Yin Dao-zi, Old Master

Date

December 13, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Murder on the Orient Express, Part II

Game System

Castle Falkenstein

Pitch

The adventure continues from last time. Our heros have survived the train engine's explosion and now are trapped in the middle of nowhere near the border to Russia. How will they get out of this predicament?

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

3

Characters

Lady Cecelia Wentworth, Adventuress (Sophie)

"Sir" Richard Upton, Gentleman Thief (Edmund Metheny)

Sir Basil Rathingspoke, Big Game Hunter

Date

December 6, 2004

Technical Notes

On-going series

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Scarlet Wake

Game System

Scarlet Wake

Pitch

Game Master

n/a

Players

7

Characters

(See recap.)

Date

November 8 & 15, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Laura: We had a lot of fun last night. Lukas called this game the RPG version of "Kill Bill" and that was fairly accurate. There's not gm just protagonists and antagonists. All the players take turns with scences where you are the protagonist. Most of us got through two scenes last night since there was a large group there.

My chracter was White Lilly, a Kung Fu Student from Hong Kong, who's school had been destroyed. I faced off with Iron Dog, a traitor who burned down the school, for both of my scences. He beat me up both times. The first scene was really embarassing because it was the white belts and yellow belts that beat me up.

Another character was a Dectective who went up against a Freudian Psycoanalsyst who had killed his client before she could pay him. He also lost both times and ended up being analysed in the first scene and then hypnotised in front of a whole audotoriam full of high school students the second time. It was brutal.

Resolute Monkey managed to take down his boss in the second scene. He was a humanoid monkey sent by the Monkey God to punish those who do harm to monkeys. He faced of against Bob the honest researcher. In the first scene after locking a graduate student in one of the monkey cages Resolute Monkey was locked in a cage himself and probed. In the second scene he managed to defeat the janitor, the undergrads, and finally Bob himself.

Other characters included an Amerind man nickenamed "Mr. Grumpypants" by his nemisis little Timmy, A biker who destoryed a Chinese restaraunt looking for the man who scratched his motorcycle, a surfer named Golden Boy who took down Nick a guy who worked for the corporation that wanted to take over the beach, and a gangster who took on the local Madame, big Mama.

I definetly want to play again and see if I can finally defeat Iron Dog!

Player Thoughts

Ed Freeman: We found a pretty good system break. If you take all the Kick and use it for pumping up the boss, the 1st boss becomes pretty much unbeatable.

I reported this, and it looks like the fix is that boss power-ups only last for that encounter.

zuvembi: Thank goodness. I don't think I could take the psychic damage of being brutally psychonanalyzed again by Doctor Phillip von Stutz the color-blind psychiatrist. Much more of that and I'll be in therapy for years. Much less if he gives me another bill like the last one...

Additional GM Thoughts

Deliria

Game System

Deliria

Pitch

Game Master

Ed Freeman

Players

2

Characters

(See recap.)

Date

October 28, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Laura: I was a graphic designer working for a local computer game company and Linda was my faithful terrier with farie blood, Fergus. This fellow named Moredecai hired the company to make a game about going to the Farie Lands and killing King Oberon and as it turns out it would have really annoyed Oberon. Soon strange people were showing up asking me why I wanted to kill the Faerie King. This woman put a mark on me in the Starbucks and after that technology broke down whenever I got near it. To make a long story short we got a ride to the Faerie lands and talked the King into taking the curse off so that I could go back and make Mordecai and additional character in the game.

Player Thoughts

Laura: If Ed runs this game again, I'd really reccomend it :)

Additional GM Thoughts

I had originally prepped a happy disney-oid story about the family pets rescuing a daughter back from the Fey Lands, but I had spent all day in meetings contemplating if it would be worth losing by job to slap the person talking too much. I came out in no mood to run happy-disney, so I pretty much improved the adventure on the spot. I had a bunch of "Once apon a Time ..." cards and wheneve I needed inspiration I pulled one out.

I may have to actually flesh it out a bit more and make it a real adventure :-)

G.A.M.E.: Star Wars

Game System

G.A.M.E.

Pitch

Game Master

Ed Freeman

Players

4

Characters

Calit the Pilot, Cardo the pilot, Legod the Sys Admin, and Firchung the Wookie

Date

September 27, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Calit the Pilot, Cardo the pilot, Legod the Sys Admin, and Firchung the obligatory Wookie were taking lunch at Poiled Bob's Sporg House when ...

... TIE fighters overhead, troopships landing, suspiciously close to TPT the shipping / smuggling outfit they work at. Storm troopers burst into the shop shouting "There they are!" and blasting away. Cue Star Wars music.

The heroes dispatched the STs with dispatch, but not before Calit took a blaster in the shorts. I knew the players were really getting the system when David (?) said "I use my acting ability to collapse under the table, and then snap off a shot so I can chain Acting with Blaster."

After the first three troopers, they ran out the back where they got ambushed by three more troopers and an AT-XT (1-man walker), and more troopers as they're trying to get into spare suits as a disguise.

They found out they're wanted for being in the Rebellion. This is the first they've heard of any rebellion.

They hide out at a friend's shop where they talk to the Head (6' tall ape head on two massive arms) where they find out they have to have to get themselves off-planet of they will be turned over to the Empire.

They make a diversion that involves lots of explosions so they can sneak back into their old workshop and steal their old ship The Lady MacBeth. After a shoot-out with a Hunter Droid and beating up another trooper on the ship, they take off. As luck has it, the Star Destroyer Batarak is on the other side of the planet, leaving only a picket of 6 TIE fighters between them and freedom ...

...at which point the GM decides to roll boxcars. The TIE fighters attack in formation; the first two punch holes in the shields, the next two take out the shield generators themselves, the last two strafe the engines. After this the TIE fighters dance around, taking chunks out of The Lady MacBeth until it's dead in space.

The crew surrenders, is about to get tossed in a garbage disposal, overpowers their guards, and patches into the Star Destroyer computer system...

... when the Sysadmin gets the roll of the night. They hack root on the Star Destroyer. They shut down life support in the ship, get everybody off the ship, and get their friends up on it.

They start the night as out-of-work smugglers. They end the night as out-of-work smugglers with a Star Destroyer.

Player Thoughts

Lukas: I enjoyed the game quite a bit, and I think you've developed a very good system. While I feel it's best suited to grittier games where the players have a semi-even chance of failing in achieving their goals, rather than a highly cinematic sort of game, it works really well. It think it would be perfect for an espionage sort of game, for some reason. I like the idea of being able to chain together skills to help yourself and others accomplish things, though it seems like it would require the GM to be very mindful to keep it from being abused.

Jason: The skill chains is the coolest aspect of the system. The system takes an active hand in encouraging role playing, which is a good thing. The mechanics are also solid - diminishing returns keep people from getting ridiculous.

The system works well overall; the system was able to handle what we tried to do with it. That said, it's a little too crunchy for me. On-the-spot math combined with the success level table all but did me in. That's probably just a matter of personal taste, though.

I do also agree with Lukas when he says that Star Wars is probably not the ideal setting for this game. Something a little grittier, something slower moving and less actiony would probably work.

Additional GM Thoughts

We tested my pet system Monday night. ([1])

Three players, including a newcomer Jason, as well as myself. We were playing in a Star Wars universe, set a few years before 'A New Hope'. In other words, the galaxy is a real mess and nobody's in charge really. I think the players were David and Michael -- let me know if I got the names wrong, I'm really pathetic with them.

The players got the system right away which made me happy. I was worried that it was too crunchy, but the crunch bits went fine. There is some computations involved, but they are all or the same type of thing so it goes fast.

The system is easy to learn and manage. The resolution system is a little wild. I want some wildness in the system but I think there is a little too much. Maybe? It might be a feature, not a bug. The players can never be certain of a plan, but they can always have a shot even in bad odds.

Harlequinade: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Game System

Active Exploits-Diceless Role-playing

Pitch

Perfect is a place where everything seems to be good and no one has any troubles, but this place is very far from perfect, very far indeed. The residence of Perfect are gather to the Harvest Festival and young people especially enjoy the cornfield maze. Yet no one seem to speak a word of those that enter the maze and never seen again. Maybe its because in the town of Perfect such things could never happen.

Game Master

Abraham Torres

Players

4

Characters

Agnes (AJ) Jones Female 16yrs Stuck-up Tomboy

Kyle Verre Male 13yrs Home Schooler

Morris Colbert Male 29yrs Disgruntled Janitor

Shaggy Male 16yrs Metal Head

Date

September 20, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Marvel Super Heroes

Game System

Marvel Super Heroes

Pitch

It should be silly and fun.

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

Characters

Date

August 30, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Buffy

Game System

Buffy

Pitch

Game Master

Lukas Myhan

Players

5

Characters

Date

August 23, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Our intrepid group, consisting of a half-demon, untrained slayer, the last guardian of an ancient evil's grave, a retired demon hunter, and a sorcerous oracle succeeded in thwarting a mixed group of Moltek demons and vampires from re-awakening on of the Mad Gods from his ancient slumber.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Call of Cthulhu

Game System

Call of Cthulhu

Pitch

Arkham, MA, 2004 - The recent disappearance of the young couple, Ken and Mary Derby has been the subject of investigation for the Arkham police since they vanished mysteriously from their home in early October. The police had suspected Ken's elderly father, Matthew Derby, who had been living with the two for some years. Now, nearly a month after the disappearances, Matthew Derby has taken his own life by a gunshot to the head. Police officials are looking to interpret this as Matthew's confession of guilt, but what was he guilty of? No bodies have been found and no motive has been established... Was Matthew the culprit?

Game Master

Michael Goff

Players

Characters

Edward Steel- A detective for Arkham Police who has been with the case since the start. A Vietnam vet with a keen eye and fine shot.

Heather Warren- The officer who took the call when the couple disappeared. An experienced officer who has dealt with more than her share of strange cases in Arkham.

Dave Jeager- A new addition to the Arkham P.D. and Heather's partner. A college athlete and a boxer of some local fame.

Melissa Pickman- A police pyschologist who had done Matthew Derby's psychological assessments. Her analysis lead her to believe that Derby was not guilty, although he knew something he wouldn't tell her.

Prof. Asa Weatherby- A young professor of American History at the famed Miskatonic University and friend of Ken and Mary's. A very intellgent man left lame in one leg by a sports injury from college.

Amanda Kesher- A journalist for the Arkham Herald who has been following the investigation rather closely. She's well connected in Arkham and can often get in where other reporters can't.

Erich Von Straus- A wealthy dilletante, part of Arkham's "old money". Erich spends his time studying the occult and the bizzare. He's inheritted the Derby house from an old agreement his father had with Matthew Derby.

Date

August 16, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Little Fears

Game System

Little Fears

Pitch

Game Master

Manu Saxena

Players

Characters

Date

August 9, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Elric

Game System

Stormbringer

Pitch

Game Master

David Drake

Players

Characters

Date

August 2, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Under The Waves

Game System

Aeon Trinity

Pitch

Come join the fun aboard the HMS "Benthic World", the most luxurious cruise submersible in existance! Sit back and relax during the trip from Lisbon to Pearl City, and enjoy all the services that Millenium Lines is so justly famous for.

• Fantastic meals at any of our three five star restaraunts
• Full schedule of shipboard activities , including our spa, swimming pool, tennis courts, casinos.
• Three complete fitness centers
• 24-hour room service, pizzeria, sushi bar, and ice cream
• Millenium Lines children's program
• Enjoy the suboceanic scenery in our holo-observation deck.

Remember, with Millenium Lines getting there is MORE than half the fun.

Game Master

Edmund Metheny

Players

4

Characters

Sylvester Schwartzenwald – an aspiring movie star

Natasa Zopblanja – A research scientist

Charlene Smith – a computer programmer

Etien Robiteille – House Detective

Date

July 12, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Chimeras

Game System

Changeling

Pitch

When Chimera Software holds a catered party after hours at the Woodland Park Zoo for its annual employee get-together, a handful of Childlings discovers that some guests have an agenda. Will everyone leave the party alive and... unchanged?

Game Master

Sophie Lagacé

Players

5

Characters

Date

June 21, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

My fondest memory of that game is Edmund's Redcap biting through the "fun funnel" to steal coins.

Murder on the Orient Express

Game System

Castle Falkenstein

Pitch

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

9

Characters

Lady Cecilia Wentworth, Adventuress (Sophie)

Richard Upton, Gentleman Thief (Edmund Metheny)

Sir Basil Rathingspoke, Big Game Hunter (Michael Goff)

Matthew Morgan, Journalist (Kenny Galloway)

Lord Cyrus Crane, Secret Agent

Yves Poirot, Belgian Consulting Detective

Skivir, Dwarf Craftsman

Gunter Engelmann, Anarchist

Doctor Kinkaid

Date

June 7, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Our heroes and heroines all boarded the Maiden voyage of The Orient Express because they had heard rumors that Clyde Whitfield would be aboard. They each had a reason to hate him and possibly wish him dead. Someone managed to slip arsenic in his food. The passengers realized that if they didn't find out who the murderer was by the time they reached the Prussian boarder, they were likely to all be held for quite some time.

Unfortunately they never did discover who did the deed, but after Gunter blew up the train's engine before they reached the border at least they didn't have to worry about being arrested by the Prussian authorities. They just had to worry about surviving in the middle of nowhere.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Call of Cthulhu

Game System

Call of Cthulhu

Pitch

Game Master

Kayobi

Players

Characters

Date

May 31, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Star Wars

Game System

Star Wars Role Playing

Pitch

Come one... Come all... Good old fashion Star Wars Role Playing happening at Game Wizard... yes... you heard me right... Mike is finally running a game, a rare event if I must say... it is going to be a rock rolling fun time... Game time starts at 6:30 pm... come with your jedi mind tricks in tow... and I look forward to seeing ya there...

Game Master

Michael Goff

Players

Characters

Date

May 17, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

A visit to McFarland Castle

Game System

Call of Cthulhu

Pitch

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

2

Characters

Father Drake (Michael Goff)

Norman Peabody, mystery writer (Lukas Myhan)

Date

April 12, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Father Drake and Norman Peabody were both invited to England by Lady McFarland. She wanted them to look into the spirits that were haunting her family castle. Our intrepid investagator's found that there were two and after a couple of rather harrowing nights found a way to put them to rest.

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Rune Soldier: Child's Play

Game System

Big Eyes, Small Mouth

Pitch

I'll be running a game using the Big Eyes, Small Mouth system set in Seattle. It's a mood piece full of strange villains and stranger heroes built on the kind of twisted perception of reality you'd find in Moorcock's multiverse work. So, if you're into playing that sort of odd stuff, it should be tight.

Game Master

David R. Drake

Players

Characters

Gat-bear (Lukas)

Date

March 15, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

7th Sea One-Shot

Game System

7th Sea

Pitch

Game Master

Lukas Myhan

Players

Characters

Date

February 16, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

Marvel Super Heroes

Game System

Marvel Super Heroes

Pitch

Game Master

Laura Mortensen

Players

Characters

Date

February 2, 2004

Technical Notes

Recaps

Player Thoughts

Additional GM Thoughts

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